Twin-action felting machine

ABSTRACT

A needle-felting machine comprising two needle boards each having a multiplicity of barbed needles projecting from a surface thereof and disposed so that the needles in each board face away from the other board. The boards are arranged in linear opposition to each other and are reciprocably driven from a common drive shaft and gearing disposed intermediate the boards. A web of loosely matted fibers is fed past the needle surface of each board by a plurality of feed rolls driven from the common drive shaft and is simultaneously penetrated by the needles of both boards so as to obtain a balanced force system.

United States Patent 202,252 5,112,548 12/1963 Smith TWIN-ACTION FELTING MACHINE 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl

Int. Cl Field of Search ..28/4 R, 4 N,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1878 Field FOREI-GN PATENTS ll3,l l6 5/1941 Australia 28/4R 450,775 7/1936 GreatBritain 23/4R Primary Examiner-Louis K. Rimrodt AttorneysMarshall .l Breen and Chester A. Williams, J r.

ABSTRACT: A needle-felting machine comprising two needle boards each having a multiplicity of barbed needles projecting from a surface thereof and disposed so that the needles in each board face away from the other board. The boards are arranged in linear opposition to each other and are reciprocably driven from a common drive shaft and gearing disposed intermediate the boards. A web of loosely matted fibers is fed past .the needle surface of each board by a plurality of feed rolls driven from the common drive shaft and is simultaneously penetrated by the needles of both boards so as to obtain a balanced force system.

PATENIEBSEP mm SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTORS Jo ef Zocher BY Helnrich Zimmermonn ATTORNEY WITNESS:

PATENIED SEP 7 I971 sum 2 [1F 2 Fig. 4

Fig. 3

Fig. 5

INVHNTORS Josef Zocher BY Heinrich'zimmermonn ATTORNEY WITNES5= TWIN-ACTION FELTING MACHINE I BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to needle-felting machines for felting of textile fibers by the action of barbed felting needles and more particularly to a novel and improved needle-felting machine in which the mass and acceleration forces are substantially perfectly balanced so that high-speed operation may be obtainable.

When a web or batt of loosely arranged fibers are penetrated by barbed needles an interfiber entanglement results which reorients and interlocks the fibers into a compressed cohesive web. The product of this process, which is known in the art as needle felting or needling, is a nonwoven feltlike fabric which finds application in blankets, wearing apparel, upholstery and other articles. Inasmuch as these nonwoven fabrics derive their cohesive strength from the concatenation of the fibers, which depends in large part upon the number of needle punchings, it is desirable to needle punch the web with a large number of needles moving at a rapid rate.

The rudimentary elements of a needle loom for producing a needle felted fabric comprises a needle board having a multiplicity of barbed needles and means to reciprocate the board toward and away from a web of fibers which preferably moves continuously in a horizontal path beneath the barbed needles. Apparatus of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,340,586 issued to J. Zocher, one of the coinventors of the present invention. With the requirement of needle looms for producing a wider more compact fabric having higher strengths, the development of the needle loom has brought about wider needle boards having an increased needle density per board and oscillating at a faster speed. However, because the extremely heavy messes of the boards cyclically moving at high speeds results in huge dynamic and vibration forces, extremely large structures have been applied by the prior art to absorb and balance these forces. Attempts to increase the interfiber concatenation have heretofore concentrated on increasing the number of needle punches by, for example, providing needle boards having needles on opposite sides of the web while operating the looms at relatively slow speeds in order to eliminate excessive of deflection. A further approach to absorb and balance the cyclical dynamic forces, as disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,132,406, is by the use of spring devices which absorb and store energy during part of the cycle and release this energy during the remainder of the cycle. The special ele ments of such a system require additional mass to be added to the already heavy and bulky machine. Furthermore, the large needle stroke required by such a system mandates the use of additional structure to absorb the added forces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes these problems of the prior art by providing a needle-felting machine having a pair of spaced apart needle boards arranged in linear opposition to each other and driven from a common drive shaft which synchronously reciprocates the boards linearly in opposite directions toward and away from the advancing web. The treedles in each board face away from the other board so that as the needle boards reciprocate the needles of both boards simultaneously penetrate the web and simultaneously withdraw from the web. The common drive is disposed between the two needle boards and absorbs the counter directed mass forces of the oppositely moving needle boards. In this manner substantially all the opposed mass forces are absorbed by the drive shaft and not the frame of the machine. This efi'ects a rie'edling machine which is capable of very highspeed operation, that is, a large number of strokes per minute, while maintaining vibration free running because of .the high degree of force balance. Furthermore, a lower construction weight of the machine results because a shorter stroke of the needle boards is possible.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide an improved needle loom having the capability of operating at extremely high speed for rapidly penetrating and concatenating the fibers of a moving web, to thereby effect a felted nonwoven fabric without necessitating the use of a frame having excessive size and weight to absorb the acceleration and dynamic forces inherent in the needling process.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a needling loom in which the forces are balanced by means of elements which are necessary for the driving of the loom.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a needling loom in which the moving parts are arranged in substantial mirror image to each other such that the forces created by reciprocation of the needle boards are equal and opposite and are thereby balanced with respect to the frame of the machine and substantially all the dynamic forces are absorbed by the driving components to thus permit faster reciprocation of the boards and a smaller machine.

A yet still further object of this invention is to provide needle-felting machine having a pair of spaced apart needle boards each including a multiplicity of barbed needles projecting from one surface thereof, said needle boards being disposed such that the needles in each board face away from the other board, means for advancing said web pass the needle surface of each board, and drive means for synchronously reciprocating the boards linearly in opposite directions toward and away from said web so that all the needles simultaneously penetrate said web and simultaneously withdraw from said web.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken together with the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a needle loom machine embodying the present invention with portions thereof partially broken away and partially in section to show two drive units for oscillating the needle boards, it being understood that any number of drive units may be used depending upon the width of the web to be needled and thus the width of each needle board;

FIG. 2 is a cross section taken along substantially along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 clearly showing the drive elements associated with each drive unit shown in FIG. 1 and with a third drive unit which is hidden in FIG. 1, and further showing representations of felting needles used in the machine;

FIG. 3 is a cross section taken substantially along line 33 of FIG. 2 and showing the web feeding rolls and a conveyor for transporting web material to the felting machine;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of the loom of FIG. I looking from the left thereof and showing the web feeding drive elements.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals denote similar parts throughout the various views, there disclosed a preferred embodiment of a needle loom constructed in accordance with the present invention. The frame of the loom comprises a bottom structural plate 12 to which is secured a pair of vertical end walls 14 and 16 which support the remaining structural elements and members of the loom as hereinafter described. Extending longitudinally between and secured to each end wall 14 and I6 is a pair of spaced vertical walls 18 and 20 to each of which is secured one edge of a plurality of spaced bearing walls 22a, 22b, 220, etc., each of which supports one needle board driving unit, presently to be described. A further bearing wall 24 is laterally secured between the walls 18 and 20 at the right hand side of the machine as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Secured to the tops of bearing walls 24, 22a and 22b and further secured to the end wall 16 is an upper structural plate 26 upon which is mounted a conventional motor 28 and gear box 30. I

A V-groove pulley-32 is driven through the gear box 30 and through a slip clutch 34 from the motor 28. The-pulley may be.

etc. and 24' is a main drive shaft 36 upon the right end of which a is rotatably secured a second V-groove pulley 38at a location below the pulley 32. A plurality of endless V-belts 40 areeach fitted within one groove of the pulleys operatively to transmit power from the pulley 32 to the pulley 38 to thereby rotate the shaft 36.

Fast on the shaft 36 so as to rotate therewith are a plurality of main gears 42a, 42b, 42c, etc. Meshing with each main gear 42a, 42b and'42c, etc. is a pinion gear 44a, 44b, and 440, etc. respectively and a respective idle gear'46a, 46b, and 460, etc., each of which is fast on a stud shaft rotatable mounted in bearings in the respective bearing wall 22a, 22b, and 22c, etc. Also meshing with each idle gear 46a, 46b, and 460, etc. is a respective pinion gear 48a, 48b, and-48c, etc. each fast on a respective stud shaft rotatably mounted. in bearings in the respective wall 22a, 22b, and 22c, etc. Each stud shaft 50,

upon which the respective gear 44 is mounted, further mounts a respective crank wheel 54a, 54b, and 54c, etc., and each stud 52, upon which is mounted the respective pinion gear 48, further mounts a respective crank. wheel56a, .56b, and 56c, etc. Each crank 54 and 56 includes a respectivecrankpin-58 and 60 upon which is mounted a respective connecting rod 62 and 64. This is'true of each drive unit and is respectivelydesignated as a,.b, and 0, etc. Each connecting rod62 is pivotally pin connected to a needle board 66 andeachconnecting rod 64 is pivotally pin connected'to a needle board 68 so as to oscillate. the same as the shaft36'is-rotated'by the motor through the belt and pulley drive. The needle board 66 is supportedby a plurality of straight'cylind'rical guide rods70, preferablyfour, only three of which are shown, whichslidably fitrwithin cylinders 72 formed integral with the rearof-the needle board. Similarly, the needle board 68 is supported by a plurality of straight cylindricalguide'rods 74 which-slidably are received within cylinders 76 formed-integral with :the needle board. in this manner each needle board is constrained. to linear movement only and the reciprocation of the-shaft 36' is transmitted. by the gears 42, 44, 46 and 48 through the cranks 54 and-56 and the connecting rods 62 and 64 to the needle boards whichare thus reciprocated linearly in opposite directions to each other alongthe guide rods Wand- 74. It is, of course, apparent'thatthe idle gears 46 effect-a180 change in the reciprocating phase of board68'relative to board'66. l The needle boards 66 and 68, whichperse form no part of the present-invention, have mounted thereon a multiplicity of felting needles 78 which are secured-theretoby means well known in the art, and which as disclosed in FIG. 2 may be trapped in place by means of a respective plate 80 and 82. Spaced from each needle board 66 and-68-is arespective'bed plate 84 and 86, secured as by bolts 88 to the end walls 1'4 and 16. The bolts 88 pass through lugs 89 integral with the endwalls 14 and 16 and further secure a pair of stripper'plates'90 and 92 spaced from the respective plate 84' and 86 as by lugs 94. The bed plate 84 and the stripper plate 90each have a multiplicity of aligned holes 95 equal in number to the number of needles in the needle board 66. Similarly, the bed plate 86 and the stripper plate 92 each have a multiplicity of aligned holes equal in number to the number of needles in the needle board 68. A web-of material 96 is fed between eachstripper plate and its respective bed plate and the needling process is performed therebetween as the needle boards reciprocate linearly to and froni"'the respective stripper plate and bed plate. h

To feed the web of material 96 to the needling stations-there are provided a plurality of 'rubber backed feed rollers 98,.99, 100 and 101 mounted on respective parallel shafts 102,. 103-,

104 and 105 joumaled in and extending between the end walls 14 and 16..The rollers are'arranged to feed and guide theweb 96 between the stripper plate and the bed plate 84 and then in .seriatim between thestripper plate 92 and the bed plate 86, so that the web of material is-needled. in two locations by the two opposed needle board 66 and 68. To drive the rolls 98, 99, and 101 there is provided on each end of the shaft 36, externally of the endiwallsl4 and 16, a respective variable speed gearbox 106 and 106a-each havinga respective output shaft 107 and 10711. Mounted atthe ends of "each shaft 107 and l07ais a respective sprocket gear 108 and.l08a. Similarly at the end of each ishaft 102ismbunted a sprocket gear 109 (only one of which-is shownland at end of each'shaft is mounted a sprocket gear 110-and 110a. Mounted ateach end of shaft 103 is a-respective gear ll2and-112a which meshes with another gear 114- and 114a respectively fast on stud shafts 116andv 116a. In like manner a gear 118 and 118a is mounted on each end of-the shaft 104 and meshes with similar gears 120 (only one of which is shown) mounted on respective shortstud shafts 122 and 122a. The stud-shafts 116 and 122 are rotatably mounted in the end wall while the stud shafts 116a and'l'22a are rotatably mounted in the end wall 16 and each respectively includes at itsfree end a sprocket gear 124, 126, 1240 and 126a. A chain drive 128 meshes with and passes about'the sprockets 109, 124, 126' and 110 and beneath the sprocket l08while a chain drive 128a meshes with and passes about the sprockets 109a, 124a, 126a, 110a and 108a. In this manner the shaft 36 drives the feed rolls 98, 99, 100 and 101 through the two-drive sprockets 108; The gearing 112, 114 and 118, 120 provide the proper directional rotation ofthe. rollers 99-and 100 respectively. It can-,therefore, be seen that the common drivefor reciprocating the needle boards also provides the drive to rotate therollers to feed-the web 96 in timecl relation'to the needle board reciprocation. Preferably theroller- 98 may comprise. part of a conveyor system. with; for example, another roller-130 for driving a feedingzbelt 132 upon which the web 96is placed, to thereby feed the web 96 from a prior processing machine to the needling machine of the present invention. 7

[t can'therefore be. seen thata simple and compact machine for needlingaweb of fiber: materialis provided in which the needle boards are reciprocated in linear opposition to each otherandthereby. the dynamic forces are substantially counterbalanced'while the massforcesare absorbed by the common' drive shaft and not by the frame. The frame of. the machinernay thusbe reduced substantially. over a machine of like capacity, and at the same time the speed at which the needle-boards are reciprocated may increased substantially over what is commonly practiced'in'todays art.

Numerous alterationsof the structureherein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to a preferred-embodiment of my invention which is for purposes of illustration only and notto be. construedas a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit. of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the. appended claims.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what is claimed hereinis:

1. In a needle-felting machine for compacting a web of loosely matted fibers into aneedled fabric,

a pair of spaced apart needle boards each having a multiplicity of barbed needles projecting from one surface thereof,

said needle boardsbeing disposed such that said needles in each board'face away from the other board,

means'for advancing said web past the needle surface of each board, and

.means for synchronously reciprocating said boards linearly in opposite directionstoward and away from said web such that said needles simultaneously penetrate said web and simultaneously withdrawn therefrom.

2. In a needle-felting machine as recited in claim 1 wherein said reciprocating means comprises a common drive shaft rotatably mounted intermediate said pair of needle boards, means for rotating said shaft, power transmitting means operatively connecting said shaft to each needle board, guide means for constraining each board to linear movement only, said power transmitting means including means for converting the rotation of said shaft to reciprocation of said boards and further including means for changing the reciprocating phase of one board by 180 relative to the other board so that the boards reciprocate linearly in opposite directions.

3. In a needle felting machine as recited in claim 2 wherein said web advancing means comprises a plurality of feed rolls,

and means for rotating said rolls from the common drive shaft.

4. In a needle-felting machine as recited in claim 1 wherein said reciprocating means comprises guide means for constraining each board to linear movement only, a common drive shaft rotatably mounted intermediate said pair of needle boards, means for rotating said shaft and at least one drive unit comprising a main gear secured to said shaft to rotate therewith, a pair of pinion gears, means mounting a first of said pinions in meshing relationship with said main gear so as to rotatably drive thereby, an idle gear, means mounting said idle gear in meshing relationship with said main gear and the second of said pinions so as to be rotatably driven by said main gear and to rotatably drive said second pinion in a direction opposite to that of said first pinion, first and second connecting rods, means for operatively connecting said first rod to a first of said needle boards and said second rod to the second needle board, and means for pivotally connecting each rod to a respective pinion eccentrically relative to the axis of rotation of said respective pinion.

5. In a needle-felting machine as recited in claim 4 wherein said web advancing means includes a plurality of rotatably mounted feed rolls in functional engagement with said web, a

power takeoff unit mounted on at least one end of said common drive shaft, means mounted on at least one end of each drive roll for receiving power from said drive shaft, and power transmission means for transferring power from said power takeoff means to said power receiving means to rotate said rolls.

6. A needle felting machine comprising a frame, first and second needle boards each having a multiplicity of barbed needles projecting from a surface thereof, means for supporting said needle boards in said frame with the needles of each board pointing away from the other board and for constraining said boards for linear movement only toward and away from each other, a bed plate and a stripper plate spaced therefrom associated with each needle board and disposed proximate the needle projecting surface thereof, each bed plate and stripper plate having a multiplicity of holes for receiving the needles of the associated needle board during at least a portion of the stroke of said board, means for feeding a web of fabric between the bed plate and stripper plate of each board in seriatim, and means for synchronously driving each board toward and away from its associated bed plate in timed relation with the feeding of said web, whereby the needles of each board penetrate and withdraw from a portion of said web to thereby compact and compress said web.

7. A needle-felting machine as recited in claim 6 wherein said driving means comprises a common drive shaft rotatably mounted in said frame intermediate said needle boards and having its axis of rotation disposed substantially normal to the linear direction of movement of said boards, means for rotating said shaft, and means driven by said shaft and operatively connected to each said needle board for moving the same away from each other as the boards move toward their associated bed plate and toward each other as the boards move away from their associated bed plate. 

1. In a needle-felting machine for compacting a web of loosely matted fibers into a needled fabric, a pair of spaced apart needle boards each having a multiplicity of barbed needles projecting from one surface thereof, said needle boards being disposed such that said needles in each board face away from the other board, means for advancing said web past the needle surface of each board, and means for synchronously reciprocating said boards linearly in opposite directions toward and away from said web such that said needles simultaneously penetrate said web and simultaneously withdrawn therefrom.
 2. In a needle-felting machine as recited in claim 1 wherein said reciprocating means comprises a common drive shaft rotatably mounted intermediate said pair of needle boards, means for rotating said shaft, power transmitting means operatively connecting said shaft to each needle board, guide means for constraining each board to linear movement only, said power transmitting means including means for converting the rotation of said shaft to reciprocation of said boards and further including means for changing the reciprocating phase of one board by 180* relative to the other board so that the boards reciprocate linearly in opposite directions.
 3. In a needle felting machine as recited in claim 2 wherein said web advancing means comprises a plurality of feed rolls, and means for rotating said rolls from the common drive shaft.
 4. In a needle-felting machine as recited in claim 1 wherein said reciprocating means comprises guide means for constraining each board to linear movement only, a common drive shaft rotatably mounted intermediate said pair of needle boards, means for rotating said shaft and at least one drive unit comprising a main gear secured to said shaft to rotate therewith, a pair of pinion gears, means mounting a first of said pinions in meshing relationship with said main gear so as to rotatably drive thereby, an idle gear, means mounting said idle gear in meshing relationship with said main gear and the second of said pinions so as to be rotatably driven by said main gear and to rotatably drive said second pinion in a direction opposite to that of said first pinion, first and second connecting rods, means for operatively connecting said first rod to a first of said needle boards and said second rod to the second needle board, and means for pivotally connecting each rod to a respective pinion eccentrically relative to the axis of rotation of said respective pinion.
 5. In a needle-felting machine as recited in claim 4 wherein said web advancing means includes a plurality of rotatably mounted feed rolls in functional engagement with said web, a power takeoff unit mounted on at least one end of said common drivE shaft, means mounted on at least one end of each drive roll for receiving power from said drive shaft, and power transmission means for transferring power from said power takeoff means to said power receiving means to rotate said rolls.
 6. A needle felting machine comprising a frame, first and second needle boards each having a multiplicity of barbed needles projecting from a surface thereof, means for supporting said needle boards in said frame with the needles of each board pointing away from the other board and for constraining said boards for linear movement only toward and away from each other, a bed plate and a stripper plate spaced therefrom associated with each needle board and disposed proximate the needle projecting surface thereof, each bed plate and stripper plate having a multiplicity of holes for receiving the needles of the associated needle board during at least a portion of the stroke of said board, means for feeding a web of fabric between the bed plate and stripper plate of each board in seriatim, and means for synchronously driving each board toward and away from its associated bed plate in timed relation with the feeding of said web, whereby the needles of each board penetrate and withdraw from a portion of said web to thereby compact and compress said web.
 7. A needle-felting machine as recited in claim 6 wherein said driving means comprises a common drive shaft rotatably mounted in said frame intermediate said needle boards and having its axis of rotation disposed substantially normal to the linear direction of movement of said boards, means for rotating said shaft, and means driven by said shaft and operatively connected to each said needle board for moving the same away from each other as the boards move toward their associated bed plate and toward each other as the boards move away from their associated bed plate. 